7 Dead in London Bridge Attack, Scores With Grave Injuries

People walking down Borough High Street as police are dealing with an incident on London Bridge in London, Saturday, June 3, 2017. Witnesses reported a vehicle hitting pedestrians and injured people on the ground. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)

(CN) – Seven people were killed and as many as 48 were hospitalized with grave injuries in London Saturday night after three knife-wielding assailants ran down pedestrians with a van on London Bridge, then emerged with large hunting knives to carry out a stabbing spree in the British capital’s Borough Market, a popular tourist destination.

As of Sunday morning, no one had claimed responsibility for the attack, but British police have raided an apartment building in east London and arrested 12 in connection with the incident.

In the aftermath of the attack, Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to carry out a sweeping review of her nation’s counterterrorism strategy.

“Enough is enough,” she said following the third major terrorist attack in Britain in the past three months.

In a statement, May said Britain would ramp up its efforts to root out radical Islamist and eliminate “the safe spaces” their philosophy needs to breed.

In the meantime, “Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would,” May said. “Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Sunday additional police have been stationed throughout the city and that security would remain tightened throughout the week.

He described the attack as a “deliberate and cowardly” act directed at innocent Londoners.

The Muslim Council of Britain also condemned the attack on Sunday, saying “Muslims everywhere are outraged and disgusted at these cowards who once again have destroyed the lives of our fellow Britons.”

“That this should happen in the month of Ramadan, when many Muslims were praying and fasting, only goes to show that these people respect neither life nor faith,” the council said.

The latest incident comes just five days before parliamentary elections are scheduled in Britain. On Sunday morning, both May’s Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party announced they would temporarily suspend campaigning out of respect for the victims.

The attack began shortly after 10 p,m, Saturday night. Police received their first emergency call about it at 10:08 p.m. and responded to the scene in force, shooting and killing the three assailants.

Witnesses said the assault by the three men began when they raced their white van across London Bridge and suddenly jumped the curb, plowing down everyone in their path. The van eventually crashed into a railing, at which point, the three men jumped from the vehicle and ran toward Borough Market, which was crowded with tourists and locals out for a good time at one of its many bars and nightspots.

Police said after the assailants were killed it was discovered they were wearing what appeared to be suicide vests, but at this time the authorities believe they were fake. — Developing story.